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Weather Vane (2011-11-10) Vol. 58 No. 8

Page 1

P.3 Redefining God P.4 Good Music Special Insert on GtC P.6 Remember P.7 Where's the Funding
THE WEATHER VANE *C* V o l . 5 8 , N o . 8 ■ ■ ■ ■ T H U R S D A Y , N O V E M B E R 1 0, 201 1 wM W W W .W E A T H E R V A N E .E M U .E D U
Eastern Mennonite University's student newspaper since 1939
Student Groups Protest Environmental and Justice Abuses
Courtney Ryan,
Staff Writer
The months of October and
November prove busy for clubs
such as Peace Fellowship and
Earthkeepers. Many EMU stu­dents
are actively participating in
environmental and justice cam­paigns,
attending protests and
conferences around the U.S.
Mountaintop Conference:
For educational purposes,
EMU took several students as
well as a recent graduate to the
sixth annual Mountain Justice
Fall Summit, held on Oct. 28-30.
Coal River Mountain Watch
and Radical Action, for Mountain
People’s Survival, two groups
protesting mountaintop removal,
hosted the conference. About 100
people from around the country
attended this event to learn about
mountaintop removal and strip
mining.
“When you realize that the
mountain ridge we stood on used
to be hundreds of feet taller, and
covered with trees and wildlife
rather than a random [manifes­tation]
of invasive grasses, you
begin to see it for what it is: dev­astating,”
said Joshua Kanagy,
copresident of Earthkeepers.
According to Kanagy, moun­taintop
removal is both an envi­ronmental
and social justice is­sue.
“People are being forced into
leaving their homes, and the land
they were raised on has been pol­luted,
bulldozed, and destroyed,”
said Kanagy.
At the conference, protestors
viewed a documentary exploring
the health, environmental, social,
and economic effects of moun­taintop
removal.
According to Katie Jantzen,
copresident of Earthkeepers, lo­cals
were given the chance to
explain the effects on their lives.
Students also heard the perspec­tives
of people who live in com­munities
affected by this issue.
Sustainable energy, com­munity
organizing, and general
information about mountaintop
removal were a few of the work­shops
protesters attended.
On the last day of the confer­ence,
students visited the home
o f Larry Gibson, featured in the
YERT documentary previously
shown on EMU’s campus. Gib­son
discussed his personal experi­ence
with mining companies and
the consequences of mountaintop
removal.
“It was especially moving for
the people who had never seen a
site before to behold the extreme
devastation this resource extrac­tion
leaves behind,” said Jantzen.
Pipeline Protest:
On Nov. 6, the Tar Sands
Action organization gathered an
estimated 12,000 people who
linked arms to surround the White
House. They protested to prevent
construction of the Keystone XL
pipeline designed to carry oil
from Canada to Texas.
Jam es Souder
Junior Josh Kanagy joins Earthkeepers as they observe mountaintop destruction in West Virginia.
If approved by President
Obama, the pipeline would run
from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
Protestors carried signs with
President Obama’s campaign
promises for ‘“ clean energy and
a healthier environment,’ as the
decision to grant approval for the
pipeline projects rests entirely on
Obama,” said Jantzen.
The crude oil would be ex­tracted
from the Canadian tar
sand, then processed and shipped
overseas, said protest attendee,
Kanagy.
“Protestors came from all over
the country to express their op­position
to the environmental de­struction
this project would cause
if it is approved,” said Jantzen,
who was also in attendance.
The pipeline would run
through rivers and streams, di­rectly
into the Ogallala aquifer,
which currently supplies water
for around two million people.
“If there would be a leak,” said
Kanagy, “it could contaminate
these precious water resources
continued on p. 2
Cultural Perceptions Challenged Through Dialogue and Art
Meg Smeltzer,
Feature Editor
As a way of exploring di­versity
on campus, EMU has
organized a series of activities
to facilitate discussions centered
around race-related themes and
questions. Dialogue on Race and
Diversity Week (DQRD Week)
has provided a structured plat­form
for these conversations to
take place.
Marvin Lorenzana, director
o f Multicultural Services, said,
“Our main purpose with DORD
is to stress the importance of de­veloping
cross-cultural compe­tence.”
The week’s activities include
influences from cultures around
the world, different styles of wor­ship,
and a challenging look at
the way we relate to those around
us whom we perceive as differ­ent.
A showing of the film
“Crash” on Monday night kicked
off the week. The film explored
themes of racial identity, differ­ences,
and conflict, and was fol­lowed
by a time of discussion.
The group of students who stayed
discussed the messages of the
movie, as well as broader issues
related to race and diversity.
The discus­sion
included
an emphasis on
the importance
of embracing
difference. Se­nior
Michael
Allen added,
“The hard part
is accepting dif­ference...
That’s
the hardest part
of being in a
community.”
T u e s d a y
night featured a
concert in Com­mon
Grounds
led by First-Year Coryn Laveist.
Performers included Allen, Se­nior
Grace Engle, hip-hop group
The Best Out (TBO), and student-led
male a cappella group Jericho
Road.
“TBO was especially impres­sive:
their excitement was con­tagious
and they were extremely all-white male
ly KrayBil
Coryn Laveist and TBO diversify Mennonite worship with hip-hop.
talented,” said Junior James
Souder. The event provided rep­resentations
of several different
styles of music and worship, such
as Christian rap, a cappella, praise
music, and original songs.
“As a member of Jericho
Road, I found it ironic that an
a cappella group
was singing at
a Dialogue on
Race and Diver­sity
event,” said
Souder. “While
the messages of
the songs spoke
about racial jus­tice
and harmony,
none of the per­forming
groups
themselves were
made up of mix­tures
of racially
diverse persons.”
W e d n e s d a y ’s
chapel was led
by Laveist and
Allen, which
provided students with a simi­lar
venue for worship outside
the normal Mennonite arena.
The various styles of worship
allowed students, faculty, and
staff to experience “diversity in
music and the way we worship
God,” said Laveist.
Students who led worship
included Alpha Omega Dancers,
Jericho Road, Grace Engle, and
The Best Out. The chapel pre­sentations
also included a video
interview of various students
about diversity, highlighting the
variation in students’ percep­tions
of the level of diversity at
EMU.W
ednesday’s evening event
was a showing of the documen­tary
“9500 Liberty” at Clemen­tine
in downtown Harrisonburg.
The documentary raises ques­tions
related to immigration
laws and their impact on life in
Virginia.
continued on p. 2

P.3 Redefining God P.4 Good Music Special Insert on GtC P.6 Remember P.7 Where's the Funding
THE WEATHER VANE *C* V o l . 5 8 , N o . 8 ■ ■ ■ ■ T H U R S D A Y , N O V E M B E R 1 0, 201 1 wM W W W .W E A T H E R V A N E .E M U .E D U
Eastern Mennonite University's student newspaper since 1939
Student Groups Protest Environmental and Justice Abuses
Courtney Ryan,
Staff Writer
The months of October and
November prove busy for clubs
such as Peace Fellowship and
Earthkeepers. Many EMU stu­dents
are actively participating in
environmental and justice cam­paigns,
attending protests and
conferences around the U.S.
Mountaintop Conference:
For educational purposes,
EMU took several students as
well as a recent graduate to the
sixth annual Mountain Justice
Fall Summit, held on Oct. 28-30.
Coal River Mountain Watch
and Radical Action, for Mountain
People’s Survival, two groups
protesting mountaintop removal,
hosted the conference. About 100
people from around the country
attended this event to learn about
mountaintop removal and strip
mining.
“When you realize that the
mountain ridge we stood on used
to be hundreds of feet taller, and
covered with trees and wildlife
rather than a random [manifes­tation]
of invasive grasses, you
begin to see it for what it is: dev­astating,”
said Joshua Kanagy,
copresident of Earthkeepers.
According to Kanagy, moun­taintop
removal is both an envi­ronmental
and social justice is­sue.
“People are being forced into
leaving their homes, and the land
they were raised on has been pol­luted,
bulldozed, and destroyed,”
said Kanagy.
At the conference, protestors
viewed a documentary exploring
the health, environmental, social,
and economic effects of moun­taintop
removal.
According to Katie Jantzen,
copresident of Earthkeepers, lo­cals
were given the chance to
explain the effects on their lives.
Students also heard the perspec­tives
of people who live in com­munities
affected by this issue.
Sustainable energy, com­munity
organizing, and general
information about mountaintop
removal were a few of the work­shops
protesters attended.
On the last day of the confer­ence,
students visited the home
o f Larry Gibson, featured in the
YERT documentary previously
shown on EMU’s campus. Gib­son
discussed his personal experi­ence
with mining companies and
the consequences of mountaintop
removal.
“It was especially moving for
the people who had never seen a
site before to behold the extreme
devastation this resource extrac­tion
leaves behind,” said Jantzen.
Pipeline Protest:
On Nov. 6, the Tar Sands
Action organization gathered an
estimated 12,000 people who
linked arms to surround the White
House. They protested to prevent
construction of the Keystone XL
pipeline designed to carry oil
from Canada to Texas.
Jam es Souder
Junior Josh Kanagy joins Earthkeepers as they observe mountaintop destruction in West Virginia.
If approved by President
Obama, the pipeline would run
from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
Protestors carried signs with
President Obama’s campaign
promises for ‘“ clean energy and
a healthier environment,’ as the
decision to grant approval for the
pipeline projects rests entirely on
Obama,” said Jantzen.
The crude oil would be ex­tracted
from the Canadian tar
sand, then processed and shipped
overseas, said protest attendee,
Kanagy.
“Protestors came from all over
the country to express their op­position
to the environmental de­struction
this project would cause
if it is approved,” said Jantzen,
who was also in attendance.
The pipeline would run
through rivers and streams, di­rectly
into the Ogallala aquifer,
which currently supplies water
for around two million people.
“If there would be a leak,” said
Kanagy, “it could contaminate
these precious water resources
continued on p. 2
Cultural Perceptions Challenged Through Dialogue and Art
Meg Smeltzer,
Feature Editor
As a way of exploring di­versity
on campus, EMU has
organized a series of activities
to facilitate discussions centered
around race-related themes and
questions. Dialogue on Race and
Diversity Week (DQRD Week)
has provided a structured plat­form
for these conversations to
take place.
Marvin Lorenzana, director
o f Multicultural Services, said,
“Our main purpose with DORD
is to stress the importance of de­veloping
cross-cultural compe­tence.”
The week’s activities include
influences from cultures around
the world, different styles of wor­ship,
and a challenging look at
the way we relate to those around
us whom we perceive as differ­ent.
A showing of the film
“Crash” on Monday night kicked
off the week. The film explored
themes of racial identity, differ­ences,
and conflict, and was fol­lowed
by a time of discussion.
The group of students who stayed
discussed the messages of the
movie, as well as broader issues
related to race and diversity.
The discus­sion
included
an emphasis on
the importance
of embracing
difference. Se­nior
Michael
Allen added,
“The hard part
is accepting dif­ference...
That’s
the hardest part
of being in a
community.”
T u e s d a y
night featured a
concert in Com­mon
Grounds
led by First-Year Coryn Laveist.
Performers included Allen, Se­nior
Grace Engle, hip-hop group
The Best Out (TBO), and student-led
male a cappella group Jericho
Road.
“TBO was especially impres­sive:
their excitement was con­tagious
and they were extremely all-white male
ly KrayBil
Coryn Laveist and TBO diversify Mennonite worship with hip-hop.
talented,” said Junior James
Souder. The event provided rep­resentations
of several different
styles of music and worship, such
as Christian rap, a cappella, praise
music, and original songs.
“As a member of Jericho
Road, I found it ironic that an
a cappella group
was singing at
a Dialogue on
Race and Diver­sity
event,” said
Souder. “While
the messages of
the songs spoke
about racial jus­tice
and harmony,
none of the per­forming
groups
themselves were
made up of mix­tures
of racially
diverse persons.”
W e d n e s d a y ’s
chapel was led
by Laveist and
Allen, which
provided students with a simi­lar
venue for worship outside
the normal Mennonite arena.
The various styles of worship
allowed students, faculty, and
staff to experience “diversity in
music and the way we worship
God,” said Laveist.
Students who led worship
included Alpha Omega Dancers,
Jericho Road, Grace Engle, and
The Best Out. The chapel pre­sentations
also included a video
interview of various students
about diversity, highlighting the
variation in students’ percep­tions
of the level of diversity at
EMU.W
ednesday’s evening event
was a showing of the documen­tary
“9500 Liberty” at Clemen­tine
in downtown Harrisonburg.
The documentary raises ques­tions
related to immigration
laws and their impact on life in
Virginia.
continued on p. 2